Critical Essay by Gertrude M. White

In the following essay, White contrasts the poetry of G. K. Chesterton and Belloc.

It is almost a Chestertonian paradox that an eyewitness cannot see clearly. Only at a distance, across a gulf of years and the confusion of a turbulent century, is it possible to see that mythical beast, the Chesterbelloc, in true perspective. "What is remarkable," says Belloc's biographer Robert Speaight [in Spode House Review, December 1974-January 1975] "is that two men whose temperaments were so diverse should have thought alike on every conceivable question." But what is even more remarkable is that the likeness of thought has been emphasised, not the diversity of temperament.

It is easier, perhaps, to isolate and discuss ideas, the matter and substance of a man's work...